In the conversation with my daughter, I asked her if she knew if the new student had found a church. We don’t discriminate based on what they look like, the food they choose to eat, or other personal preferences. As believers, one of the ways we show Christ, bringing God glory, is by accepting His people. In the Roman church and today, we’ve missed the point if we can’t look past our differences, choosing to love and welcome others just as Christ did for us. What might be right for one should be avoided for another, but either way, we should learn to live in harmony. Today, Christians disagree over political parties or worship styles. In Paul’s time, arguments were over eating meat or attending specific festivals. However, there are many things in which the Bible allows us to lean into our personal conscious and convictions. Yes, we must accept the message of the gospel that there is the only way to Heaven through a personal relationship with Christ. Paul, in Romans 15:1-7, encouraged believers of all levels of faith to humbly work to get along and accept one another, even if their beliefs on personal freedoms differ. In Rome, the church was experiencing a similar situation when they asked Paul, “what should we do about differences among believers?” Most of the Roman church were new believers and Jewish converts, so they didn’t have a firm grasp on their freedoms as Christians. I could sense there was a question bubbling underneath my daughter's afterschool news.“How should I treat this new person?” This new student wasn’t that different, but their differences stood out to my daughter in a class where most everyone looked and acted the same. But, for better or worse, in my small southern town, most kids stick to clothing choices, hairstyles, and diets that don't deviate too far from what the other kids are doing. For many, a child with purple-streaked locks, who willingly choose not to eat meat, and doesn’t mind expressing themselves in bold prints, is probably normal. My daughter described the new student in detail she raved about her colorfully dyed hair and unique style. “Oh, how fun your class has a new student!” Then asked her, "What exactly do you mean by different?" As her car door opened, so did her mouth, “Mom! We have a new kid he’s so different!” My mind did that mom thing, you know, where you try to go through all the ways you could respond. I could tell by how my daughter bounced to the car she had some news she was ready to share. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” - Romans 15: 7 NIV
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